Customer Reviews

Five Star Expressions - Sanctuary

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Santuary is a wonderfully written romance set in Brazil. Ms. Garner's incredible attention to detail made me feel as though I've been there myself. Emily Noble is a humorous and adventurous heroine, and I found that I couldn't wait to what could possibly happen next. The twists and turns of the plot kept me guessinng to the very end. This was a great pageturner....I hope to see more of Ms. Garner's work soon.

"...combination of innocent romance and international adventure..." Booklist
"...impossible to put down. ...Garner has a gift for romantic suspense." Romantic Times Book Club
"...one of those rare "page-turners." Love Romances
"What great characters! I literally could not put this story down..." Writers Unlimited
"Sanctuary is a terrific thriller..." Midwest Book Review Bookwatch
"...superbly written and beautifully rendered story." The Romance Studio
"The very talented author gives the reader a real treat in the setting and background characters." Murder and Mayhem

I love this book, I simply could NOT bring myself to put it down. Fell madly in love with Chris. This book made me want to move to Brazil! Loved everything about the book, author did a wonderful job of helping you loose yourself within it's pages. This book left me feeling like I needed, wanted more to read! This book is a must have in every collect. Enjoy!

Another wonderful story from a truly gifted author. I could not put this book down! I loved the characters, the humor, the suspence, but especially the romance. A story I'll read again and again.

Children's book illustrator Emily Noble takes a leave of absence from her work with Tot Press to travel from Upstate New York to the cerrados region of central Brazil. Her half brother international engineer James King is missing with his only message being to seek former mercenary Christovao Santos, owner of Abunancia Farm.

However, she becomes his prisoner as he does not trust her, believing she is an agent out to kill him especially since his friend James never mentioned a sibling. Christovao and Emily talk. She explains the attacks on her brother and he confirms he too has been assaulted. He also explains that he thinks the incidents and her vanished brother are linked to a mission that went bad. As they fall in love, Christovao and Emily face danger form an unknown assailant who wants him and James dead and will use her as pawn to accomplish that quest.

Though there has been an abundance of missing relative stories of late but fans of terse romantic suspense tales will appreciate this exciting tale. The story line never slows down from the moment Emily is captured by Christovao until the final confrontation with the villain. SANCTUARY is a terrific thriller that will garner the author plenty of new readers.

Harriet Klausner

In my opinion, there are few things better than literary vendettas. Take a group of vengeful people, plop them down into what was (once upon a time) a serene atmosphere, and let the may-lay begin. Action is what fuels us, Action is what makes our insides come alive, Action is what makes us do ridicules things like daydream about being Russian Spies! So... that being said, is it any surprise I enjoyed "Sanctuary"?

A few days ago I felt like I was kicked in the back (see Days of Grace review) so diving into a fast paced suspense was (to put it mildly) refreshing.

If your older brother's parting words were "If something bad should happen to me contact..." what would you do? Well, for Emily (a children's book illustrator with no clue as to who her brother actually is) the answer would be "hop a plane to Brazil and get him back." Armed with nothing more that a name (Christovao Santos) and cluelessness as to where to go next, Emily does the only thing she can think of... scrounge up a gun, and starts asking questions. Bad plan? Yes. Dropping like a fly due to fever, and exhaustion, Emily suddenly finds herself on the opposite side of the gun. Unsure of her surroundings, but clear of her intentions, she uses the only thing left in her arsenal... her power of persuasion. Is her brother really who these mysterious men say he is? What really went on Africa, and... is that a gun toting nun?

A few years ago I would have been afraid to touch this book. Not because of the synopsis (which was a little wordy for my taste) or even the meshing of genres (Romance and Suspense,) the killer for me would have been the author. (Don't freak Sharon... I'm not specifically talking about you) In the past I have noticed a trend with female suspense writers, they find it hard to turn off the mush. Don't get me wrong, I think it is necessary to have intimate interaction between characters to help build suspense, and rooting for specific outcomes on multiple levels is engaging, but in order to successfully pull off a suspense novel the author must maintain a certain level of mystery through-out their plot. Thankfully... Sharon Garner did exactly that. Great concept... better execution.

The only significant hiccup I found was the ending (yes.. I know I'm spouting cliché's) Where the writing was solid, and fluid through the first 85% of the novel, it seemed sloppy, and a little forced in the last few pages, (as if Garner was scrambling to get the book done) There were a few scenes that seemed rushed, and others that seemed slow, but all in all, the emotional "baggage" created by Garner for her characters (grief/apprehension/duty/desire) only added fuel to an already blazing fire, and in the end kept me from wanting to put it down. In my eyes that equals success.

There were hidden files, sexy Lambadas, people jumping from ceiling tiles, angry African men with swords, and one very sleazy man with blonde hair and a dirty mouth.

Conclusion: This one is a keeper kiddies... get it, live it, love it... pass it on.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: when in doubt... shout it out.